Importance of Non-Technical Skills for Employment Opportunities: A Gap Analysis of Students and Employers Perception Importance of Non-Technical Skills

In this paper, an attempt has been made to examine the gap between the perceptions of the employers and the engineering students about the importance of Non-Technical Skills for better employment opportunities. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire-based survey targeting the students and the employers. Responses were collected from 104 students and 50 employers based in the National Capital Region, India. The results obtained showed that there is significant difference in the skill set that are highly prioritized by the employers when hiring young engineering graduates and in the skill set which an engineering student ranks higher. The findings are insightful and beneficial to students, employers and Universities also. There is need for universities also to understand the various parameters where the students and the employers share the same view and the universities can act as a catalyst in giving more focus on some particular non-technical skills like oral and written communication along with good presentation and soft skills for the overall value addition to the personality of a young engineering graduate.